Dragons pull off big coup with signing of Ross Moriarty

Dragons have announced the signing of Wales back-row forward Ross Moriarty on a two-year deal starting from next season.

The 23-year-old will leave Gloucester at the end of this campaign, when his contract expires, and move to Rodney Parade despite interest from Pro14 Champions Gloucester, Aviva Premiership Champions Exeter Chiefs and Cardiff Blues, amongst others.

Although he was born in St Helens, while father Paul was playing Rugby League there, and raised in Swansea, it was Gloucester who brought Moriarty through their academy system. This lead to him turning out for England at the Junior World Championship in 2013 and 2014.

However a call-up to the Wales squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup saw him commit to the country of his father and uncle, former Wales captain Richard, winning 17 caps to date. Moriarty also went on the Lions tour last summer, but withdrew through injury after the first warm-up game.

Commenting on the move, Moriarty told the Dragons Official Website, “It is with much excitement that I am able to announce the completion of my transfer to Welsh regional side, the Dragons.

“After meeting with Bernard Jackman, I was excited by the future plans of the club as the region looks to begin a new chapter in its history.

“Playing international rugby is the pinnacle of every player’s career and with the new rules, it left me with no choice but to move to Wales to further my international ambitions, especially with the Rugby World Cup ahead.”

Dragons head coach Jackman was also positive about the signing, saying “I am delighted to have been able to convince Ross to join us as we build our team for the future. It’s a significant signing and a real reinforcement of how players are perceiving this region now.

“He is the perfect fit for us in terms of the type of player that we are looking to add to our squad in that he is young, ambitious, Welsh and very talented. We are building a team for the long term and to be able to get a player of Ross’s calibre, who is only 23, is an example of that.”